Device to be worn on the heads of hornless cattle to prevent fighting and butting, &amp;c.



m. a45,|40. Patented Mar. l3, I900.

N s. A. SMITH. DEVICE TO BE WORN [IN THE HEADS 0F HORNLESS CATTLE TO PREVENT FIGHTING AND BUTTING 8w.

(Application filed Dec. 16, 1899.)

(No Modei.)

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- to bruises, strains, or other injuries resulting UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'srEPHEN A. SMITH, or BLUE SPRINGS, NEBRASKA.

DEVICE TO BE WORN ON THE HEADS 0F HORNLESS CATTLE TO PREVENT FIGHTING AND BUTTING, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,140, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed DecemberlB, 1899. herial No. 740,618. (No model.)

To all whom, it ntcty concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blue Springs, in the county of Gage, State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful device or implement to be worn and used on the heads of hornless cattle for preventing them from fighting and butting and thereby causing the abortions so common among cows, a large part of which have been traced directly from such fighting or butting, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in halters, and has for its object to provide a halter to be worn on the heads of hornless cattle for preventing their fighting and butting, so as to avoid the abortions so common among cows, a large, part of which have been directly traced to bruises, sprains, or other injuries resulting from such fighting or butting.

My invention consists in attaching oneor more metal plates having barbs to the facepiece of a halter, so that when pressure is brought to bear thereon, as in butting or the like, the barbs will prick the animals forehead and cause it slight pain, so that the nuisance mentioned will be avoided.

My invention further consists in the novel details of construction and combination of parts, to be fully described in the following specification and clearly set forth in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout, Figure 1is a pictorial representation of an animals head harnessed with my improved device. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the halter to which my improved spur-plates are attached, and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a spur-plate detached.

In my invention I employ a halter comprising a face-strap 1, attached at right angles to the middle of a neck-strap 2,-side braces 3, extending from the neck-strap on either side of the face-strap to an intermediate point of said face-strap, a cross-strap 4, connecting the two side braces near their front ends and riveted at its middle point to the face-strap 1 by means of a rivet-plate 5, which extends along the face-strap 1, binding the cross-strap and side braces securely to said face-strap, and crossed nose-straps 6, passing through ring 7 and attached to the lower end of the face-strap and provided with buckles for engaging the ends of the neckstrap 2 and each other. To the under side of the face-strap 1 of this halter, just above and below the rivet-plate 5, I rivet barbed or spur plates 8, consisting of a sheet-metal blank with substantially -rectangular base having angular barbs or spurs 9 struck up at right angles along its sides and being provided with suitable perforations 10 for the rivets.

When applied to the head of an animal, as shown in Fig. 1, the spur-plates are located on the forehead and are not annoying in the least until the animal begins butting, when they are pressed into the skin, causing slight temporary pain, which will soon cure the animal of its butting tendency.

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the character described, a barbed plate, consisting of substantially-rectangular base having spurs bent up at right angles thereto along the sides of the base and perforations in said base, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described, a halter comprising a face-strap, aneck-strap attached thereto, side braces connecting the face-strap with the neck-strap, nose-straps connecting the front end of face-strap to the ends of the neck-strap, and a barbed plate secured to said face-strap, substantially as described. 1

3. In a device of the character described, a halter comprising a face-strap, a neck-strap attached thereto, side braces connecting the.

face-strap with the neck-strap, a cross-strap connecting the side braces near their front ends and connected at its middle point to the fztce-strap, a rivet-plate extending along the above and below the rivet plate, substanface-strap and forming the means of connectialiy as described. tion between said face-strap and the crossstrap and sidebracesrespective1y,n0sestmps STEIDHLN SMITH 5 connecting the front of the face-strap with Witnesses:

the ends of the neckstmp,and barbed plates 0. S. OTIS,

secured to the under side of the face-strap GALEN VONDER. 

